The No. 16 ranked CCRI Lady Knights basketball team traveled to Middletown, N.Y. to play the Colts of Orange County Community College. The Lady Knights defeated the Colts 107-60. With the victory, the Lady Knights improved to 7-0 on the season.

The Lady Knights dominated the play from the opening tip for the final buzzer. CCRI shared the ball well with 14 assists and played solid defense, swiping 10 steals with 52-percent shooting in the first half while making six 3-pointers. It led at the half 58-29.

The Lady Knights finished the game shooting 42-percent from behind the 3-point arc and shot 49-percent from the floor.

"We haven't played in over a week and you always hope that you don’t come out flat and that you pick up where you left off which was the case last night,” CCRI head coach Kate Lynch said. “I was pleased with the effort.”

The Lady Knights will host No. 1 ranked Johnson County Community College from Overland Park, Kan. on Saturday at 2 p.m. for a battle to top 20 teams at the Vincent A. Cullen Fieldhouse.

Lady Knights’ Smith signs with Claflin

The CCRI women’s basketball team has had a strong start, and its early success yielded the program’s first signing during the women’s basketball early signing period. Smith was signed by the Lady Panthers of Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C.

“I cannot really begin to say how very proud I am of Jahira and what she has accomplished at CCRI,” Lynch said. “‘Jah’ has set numerous records and has set the standard for where we want to take our program. She makes everyone around her better, both on and off of the floor. Jahira is the consummate teammate, a true leader, and a competitor. She has all of the intangibles that you dream of in a player. Jah is going to continue to flourish."

Smith exploded on the scene for the 2011-12 Lady Knights, leading them in almost every statistical category while also leading them to their ninth consecutive Region XXI title. She was the top scorer with 502 total points, averaging 16.2 points per game where she was ranked No. 41 nationally. She led in rebounds with 217, averaging seven rebounds per game. Smith also set the single season record for assists with 183 total and 5.9 per game, blowing away the former record of 156 by Nicole Girard in 2008-09. She is also ranked No. 14 nationally in assists nationally. Smith recorded an impressive 11 double-doubles and one triple-double in her 31 games played. In addition, she tied the single-game assist record when she recorded 14 versus Orange County CC on January 21st.

Lastly, she crushed the CCRI steals record with 110 steals so far, averaging 4.2 per game. In her sophomore campaign, through six games as a starter, Smith is averaging 20.2 points, 5.8 assists, 4.3 steals and 3.7 rebounds per game.Smith was signed the same day as Karahn Scott from Toledo, OH.

“Jahira and Karahn come from hard-working families and it shows in their game,” Claflin head coach Tiffany D. Tucker said. “They are excellent students and accomplished athletes. Smith and Scott come from championship programs and they understand what it takes to win. They have the ability to become ‘program changers’ within our system.”

Knights overcome OCCC’s comeback attempt

The CCRI Knights men’s basketball team traveled to Middletown, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon to play the Colts of Orange County Community College for a northeast Division II showdown. The Knights defeated the Colts 82-78. With the victory, the Knights improved to 4-2 on the season.

The Knights fell behind the Colts early in the game 8-2 and the colts were able to extend their lead to 13-9 at the 15-minute mark. However, the Knights took their first lead of the game at the 10-minute mark 19-17. The Knights would keep a four-point lead for rest of the half before scoring the final four points of the half to go in leading 42-34.

In the second half, the Knights extended their lead to 11 points 68-57 with seven minutes to play in the game. The Colts would not break, though, as they stormed back to get within 79-78 with just 1:50 left in the game. From there, the Knights hit 3-of-4 free throws, two from Bryan Yarce (Cranston) and one from Rob Alers (Central Falls) to secure the hardfought road victory.

Leading the way for the Knights was captain Isaac Medeiros (Johnston), who charted a double-double with game-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Yarce scored 15 points, and had six assists and three steals. Also helping the Knights was freshman guard Chris Light (Derry, N.H.), who shot 4-of-5 from the 3-point arc to contribute 12 points. Pat Marchand (Cranston) had nine points, five rebounds and two assists, Jerome Harris (Hartford, Conn.) added nine points and five assists and Rob Hazard (North Providence) also dished out five assists to help the Knights’ attack.

“Solid road victory for our young men,” CCRI head coach Rick Harris said. “We had to throw every one of our defenses at them in order to secure the win. Different players stepped-up and performed for us in this win today. This is exactly what we need with Desmond Williams (Torrington, Conn.) being sidelined.”

The Knights were scheduled to be back in action Wednesday against the Warriors of Massasoit Community College. Those results were unavailable at press time.